Thermal Effect on Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) Material Removal in the Micromilling Process.

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is of growing interest in the application of microfluidic devices and high precision optical elements due to its excellent moldability and formability. Micromilling is one of the micromachining methods which has been extensively used to manufacture polymer components. In this study, a high-speed micromilling method was used to manufacture polymer with high form accuracy and surface quality.

Concurrent environmental enrichment and chronic restraint stress: Effects on innate anxiety and depressive-like behavior in male adolescent mice.

Adolescence is a period that exhibits both vulnerability and adaptation to environmental stimulus. This study explored the co-existence effect of environmental enrichment (EE) and restraint stress (RS) on innate anxiety and depressive-like behavior in adolescent mice. Male ICR mice were treated with daily EE and RS (4 h/d or 8 h/d) for 2 or 4 weeks from early adolescence (postnatal day 30) and emotional behaviors were evaluated 24 h after the end of treatment.

Cajanolactone A, a stilbenoid from cajanus cajan, prevents ovariectomy-induced obesity and liver steatosis in mice fed a regular diet.

Background: Visceral obesity and fatty liver are prevalent in postmenopausal women. The stilbene-rich extract of Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.

Graft survival and endothelial outcomes after penetrating keratoplasty and Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The present study aimed to compare the outcomes of graft survival, endothelial cell loss and vision improvement between penetrating keratoplasty (PK) and Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) for treating corneal endothelium diseases. The PubMed, CENTRAL (Cochrane) and Embase databases were searched for records added until September 20, 2019. The studies considered were two-arm prospective and retrospective studies comparing outcomes of interest between PK and DSAEK.

Added value of circulating miRNA expression profiling to sonographic TI-RADS classification in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules.

Potential use of sonographic TI-RADS classification combined with circulating miRNA expression profiling in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules was explored. Retrospective analysis was performed on clinical data of 121 patients with thyroid nodules. The biopsy specimens of patients obtained through ultrasound-guided aspiration and blood specimens were evaluated in Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University from June 2018 to June 2019.

Identification and functional analysis of fourteen NR5A1 variants in patients with the 46 XY disorders of sex development.

Human sex determination and differentiation is a complex process, during which NR5A1 plays a central role via the transcriptional regulation of key modulators involved in steroidogenesis. Approximately 8-15% of 46,XY DSD are caused by variants in the NR5A1 gene. Therefore, screening for variants in the NR5A1 gene was performed in a Chinese cohort of sixty-two 46,XY DSD patients with no AR or SRD5A2 variants via next-generation sequencing (NGS).

Identification of glioblastoma-specific prognostic biomarkers via an integrative analysis of DNA methylation and gene expression.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive and lethal tumor of the central nervous system. The present study set out to identify reliable prognostic and predictive biomarkers for patients with GBM. RNA-sequencing data were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas database and DNA methylation data were downloaded using the University of California Santa Cruz-Xena database.

OFC and its connectivity with amygdala as predictors for future social anxiety in adolescents.

Social anxiety is a common problem that usually emerges at puberty, during which great developmental changes occur both in the brain and mental state. However, little is known about the influence of social anxiety on adolescents' brain and behavior. The present study investigated the neural basis of social anxiety using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and functional connectivity analysis.

Silage Fermentation: A Potential Biological Approach for the Long-Term Preservation and Recycling of Polyphenols and Terpenes in Globe Artichoke ( L.) By-Products.

An economic and effective method for storage is necessary to make full use of the nature of active components in artichoke by-products and ease environmental pressure. In this paper, the potential of silage fermentation for the preservation and recycling of polyphenols and terpenes in artichoke by-products is evaluated. The silage of artichoke by-products is characterized by lactic acid bacteria fermentation.

Binocular Imbalance in Amblyopia Depends on Spatial Frequency in Binocular Combination.

Purpose: To assess the role of spatial frequency on binocular imbalance in binocular combination in adults with amblyopia.

Methods: Ten amblyopes (23 ± 4.9 [SD] years old; one deprivation, two mixed, seven anisometropia patients) and 10 age-matched normal adults (23 ± 2.

Measuring Aptamer Folding Energy Using a Molecular Clamp.

Folding energy (Δ) offers a useful metric for characterizing the stability and function of aptamers. However, experimentally measuring the folding energy is challenging, and there is currently no general technique to measure this parameter directly. In this work, we present a simple approach for measuring aptamer folding energy.

Association between pyrethroid pesticide exposure and hearing loss in adolescents.

Background: Hearing loss in adolescents is a serious public health problem with a high prevalence. Pyrethroids are one of the most widely applied insecticides that have been linked to neurotoxicity. However, there is no study about the effect of pyrethroid insecticide exposure on the auditory system in the general population.

Perioperative Dexmedetomidine Fails to Improve Postoperative Analgesic Consumption and Postoperative Recovery in Patients Undergoing Lateral Thoracotomy for Thoracic Esophageal Cancer: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Objectives: Dexmedetomidine is widely used as an adjunct to general anesthesia. In this study, we evaluated the effects of perioperative dexmedetomidine infusion on postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing lateral thoracotomy for thoracic esophageal cancer.

Methods: A total of 62 patients undergoing lateral thoracotomy for thoracic esophageal cancer were randomized to receive adjuvant therapy with either dexmedetomidine (0.

Prevalence of Opportunistic Pathogens and Diversity of Microbial Communities in the Water System of a Pulmonary Hospital.

Objective: Our objective was to investigate the occurrence of opportunistic pathogens and characterize the bacterial community structures in the water system of a pulmonary hospital.

Methods: The water samples were collected from automatic and manual faucets in the consulting room, treatment room, dressing room, respiratory ward, and other non-medical rooms in three buildings of the hospital. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to quantify the load of several waterborne opportunistic pathogens and related microorganisms, including spp.

Simulating and predicting the flux change of reverse osmosis membranes over time during wastewater reclamation caused by organic fouling.

During the operation of the RO system, it's significant to predict the flux change over time. Previous research conducted detailed exploration on the dynamics of RO membrane fouling, and provided a solid database for modelling. In this study, a modified intermediate blocking model with two parameters was proposed to describe the flux change of RO membranes under a huge variety of conditions.

Action Video Gaming Does Not Influence Short-Term Ocular Dominance Plasticity in Visually Normal Adults.

Action video gaming can promote neural plasticity. Short-term monocular patching drives neural plasticity in the visual system of human adults. For instance, short-term monocular patching of 0.

Copper-catalysed photoinduced decarboxylative alkynylation: a combined experimental and computational study.

Redox-active esters (RAEs) as alkyl radical precursors have demonstrated great advantages for C-C bond formation. A decarboxylative cross-coupling method is described to afford substituted alkynes from various carboxylic acids using copper catalysts CuCl and Cu(acac). The photoexcitation of copper acetylides with electron-rich NEt as a ligand provides a general strategy to generate a range of alkyl radicals from RAEs of carboxylic acids, which can be readily coupled with a variety of aromatic alkynes.

The role of attention in the relationship between early life stress and depression.

Early life stress (ELS) can be very harmful to an individual's wellbeing and brain development. It is well established that childhood maltreatment is a significant risk factor for depression. ELS is positively correlated with depressive symptoms both in major depression disorder patients and healthy individuals, but the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying this association are still unclear.

Identification of Genes with Prognostic Value in the Breast Cancer Microenvironment Using Bioinformatics Analysis.

BACKGROUND Stromal and immune cells play essential roles in the development of breast cancer (BC). This study was conducted to identify prognosis-related genes from the tumor microenvironment. MATERIAL AND METHODS The gene expression profiles of 622 BC samples were downloaded from TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) database.

Discovery of a novel series of imidazo[1',2':1,6]pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin derivatives as potent cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors.

CDK4/6 has been identified as an attractive therapeutic target for treatment of cancer. For unmet clinical needs, a novel class of imidazo [1',2':1,6]pyrido [2,3-d]pyrimidin derivatives, which had distinctive triheteroaryl structure, had been discovered as CDK4/6 inhibitors. The compounds 10b and 10c, displayed the low nanomolar range activities on CDK4/6, desirable antiproliferative activities, excellent metabolic properties, and acceptable pharmacokinetic characters.

MeCP2 mediates transgenerational transmission of chronic pain.

Pain symptoms can be transmitted across generations, but the mechanisms underlying these outcomes remain poorly understood. Here, we identified an essential role for primary somatosensory cortical (S1) glutamate neuronal DNA methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) in the transgenerational transmission of pain. In a female mouse chronic pain model, the offspring displayed significant pain sensitization.

Two Patterns of Interocular Delay Revealed by Spontaneous Motion-in-Depth Pulfrich Phenomenon in Amblyopes with Stereopsis.

Purpose: To assess interocular delays in amblyopes with stereopsis and to evaluate the relationship between interocular delays and the clinical characteristics.

Methods: Twenty amblyopes with stereopsis (median, 400 arcseconds) and 20 controls with normal or corrected to normal visual acuity (≤0 logMAR) and normal stereopsis (≤60 arcseconds) participated. Using a rotating cylinder defined by horizontally moving Gabor patches, we produced a spontaneous Pulfrich phenomenon in order to determine the interocular delays, that is, the interocular phase difference at which ambiguous motion in plane was perceived.

Multispectral imaging for predicting the water status in mushroom during hot-air dehydration.

In-depth understanding of the shifting of water status during dehydration is crucial for obtaining better quality of dried food. In this work, we report a nondestructive method to measure the water status in hot-air dried mushroom via multispectral imaging (MSI) technology combined with chemometric methods. The low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) measurements were performed as reference.

Temporal variability of brain networks predicts individual differences in bistable perception.

When ambiguous visual stimuli are presented to the eyes, conscious perception can spontaneously alternate across the competing interpretations - which was known as bistable perception. The spontaneous alternation of perception might indicate a connection between bistable perception and the dynamic interaction of brain networks. Here, we hypothesized that individual differences in perceptual dynamics may be reflected in dynamics of spontaneous neural activities.